It’s not just that he’s in the oh-so-chic 16th arrondissement with shops for the ladies, but I can’t help feeling cool knowing that I share the same dentist’s chair as the French TV celebrity chef, Cyril Lignac.

In the waiting room, there was this cloth stapled to the other part of the room. Own up: would you dare to peek and see what was behind it? Is it Cyril’s own private waiting room? Or perhaps it’s a storeroom for the extra giant drills…

Leaving the surgery, tongue sliding over shiny, polished teeth, thoughts of gleaming porcelaine teacups come to mind with sweet accompanying French treats for goûter at quatre heures. This sweet temptressis tapping at my head, ‘Go on, a bit of sugar won’t do any harm after the spring clean, will it?’

Passing this tea salon, Thé Cool (thanks to my girls who noticed this play on words for ‘Tu es cool’), L’Eclair de Génie has just opened its doors in the Passy Plaza. The genius of Christophe Adam’s Eclairs is set out neatly in flashy, colourful rows. Each small éclair is as pretty as the next. He even transfers Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam to his white chocolate topping; also highly appropriate, since the word éclair means ‘a flash’ in French.

Genius, too, at €5.50 each. I promise my girls that we’ll come back after our shopping for friends’ birthday presents but somehow, we run out of time and speed off to the party. ‘Mum, les éclairs?’

A promise is a promise but no turning back. They have to be homemade. So, en route to the party, I feel a flash of Adam’s inspiration as I’m driving back to the suburbs. Suddenly, another flash of Pierre Hermé’s Ispahan macaron (rose, raspberry and lychee) comes to mind and there we have it: a rose éclair, Ispahan style! They’re not quite as fancy as the ones we saw in Paris but I can tell you, they disappeared in an oh-là-la flash and we enjoyed them last weekend for French Mother’s Day. You could say they’re cheaper by the dozen!

Rose, Raspberry & Lychee Eclairs Recipe (Ispahan-style)

Makes 12

CHOUX DOUGH

Preparation Time: 15 minutesCooking Time: 35 minutes

Follow the recipe for choux buns then using a piping bag with a serrated tip (about 10mm), pipe out long éclairs on baking trays covered in greaseproof/baking paper (or Silpat mat) Leave a good space between each mound, as they will spread out during baking. No need to glaze. Bake in the oven at 180°C for 25 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack then cut the tops off horizontally.

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk the yolks with the sugar then whisk in the cornflour until light and creamy. Gradually add the warmed rose milk and pink colouring, whisking continuously until thickened.

3. Leave to cool. Place cling film directly on top of the pastry cream to stop a thick layer forming (if you whisk that in, you’ll get lumps!) and chill in the fridge for an hour.

4. Meanwhile, whizz the drained lychees in a blender (even better if you have fresh lychees) and using a spoon (I used a grapefruit spoon, so that it’s easier to aim) fill the raspberries with the lychee purée.

5. Gently melt the fondant in the microwave (or over a pan of boiling water) with the colouring, a teaspoon of water and rosewater. Mix well before it cools and dip the éclair tops into the rose fondant.

6. Pipe the cream into the éclairs adding the lychee-filled raspberries and place on the éclair tops.

Oh, one more thing. My latest post is based on my experience at the Cordon Bleu school in Paris (‘My Life at the Cordon Bleu- Paris’). Since you live there, you might be interested in the pictures I posted of the school and of some of the food we learned to cook (no macarons though!)

Jill, I was just thinking of making some profiteroles, so your recipe for choux pastry will come in handy. It’s amazing how many ‘anglisismes’ come into the French language, such as ‘cool.’ Also, you said ‘eclair’ means flash in English. I note that the French word for zipper is ‘fermeture éclair’ (flash closure?). Thanks for sharing!

Hehe, it certainly is that for a zip. Lots of them. Makes me chuckle just thinking about work, when I was trying my best at French and said ‘réunion’ for meeting, only to be ‘corrected’ by my French colleague, who said ‘ah oui, le meeting’. Hilarious!

hm that just reminded me that I should call my dentist for an appointment, I am dreading it already. I am thinking dearly of all the wonderful eclairs but especially of yours. Raspberry rose and lychee would have been my dream choice, perfect combination Jill! Now I just need raspberries in India… =I I ll have to wait forever to make your eclair but when I do you ll get to know it! Happy weekend Jill. 😉

I know Julie and Lucie will love these eclairs. I’m still reeling from the price of the very ordinary eclairs we bought in Le Visinet but it was worth it to see their faces while they ate them on a bench outside the church. These look so very special.

Mum, they’re all so much more special when homemade. Somehow I get a buzz out of that, especially as we can add our own personal touch to them by adding different flavour combinations. I can’t tell you how much I love doing that and just want to spread the word. Plus it’s so much cheaper 😉

Jill!!! Long time no see! Sorry for my long absence but how are you doing!?!?! Hope all is well with you… I LOVE eclairs! And how cute are those lychee-filled raspberries! I just imagined the flavor together and I drooled!

Nami, great to hear from you and thanks so much for popping by. See you’ve been getting a sweeter tooth recently! I’ve been absent on so many blogs too, don’t worry. Life just gets in the way but it’s good!

How perfect a dentist nearby pastry. I’ve been wanting to go here since its just a hop or two away to Passy. Or should I come to Chez Jill for even better lightening? It’s Michaelangelo Darling even if I can’t spell it…

I would have had a sneaky peek behind that curtain! Love all the photos of eclairs – they make me want to have a fix of Paris patisseries. I hope your daughters and their friends appreciate your efforts – I envy them.

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Bonjour! I’m Jill, a Scottish-French lass in Paris since 1993, home cook to my Corsican husband & teenage girls. Welcome to ‘le blog’ that accompanies my French patisserie recipe books, Mad About Macarons and Teatime in Paris (both Waverley Books). Enjoy twists to DO-able, easy French and Scottish recipes: from healthy family meals to simple entertaining using easy-to-find yet seasonal, quality ingredients with LESS SUGAR. Out of the kitchen, join my inspiration from top French chefs in and around Paris plus delicious discoveries on my travels.

The recipes in Teatime in Paris are very well laid out. I wish all cookbooks were this easy to follow. I also appreciate how accessible Jill makes French pastries … I adored this cookbook from start to finish.

It's not 'cos' I happened to paint the Paris pastry map endpapers, but I love this cookbook. I'd no clue I could bake but Jill's Teatime in Paris makes it easy to bake real French pastry. If I can do it so can you.

As she walks us through recipes for the easiest of treats right through to to the crème de la crème, Jill points out some of the streets famous for the best patisseries in Paris, adding bits of history and plenty of baking tips, making this a recipe tour that’s both fun and accessible.

Jill shares the best and easiest ways to make French pâtisserie classics at home, from madeleines to éclairs. While some desserts may appear hard to make, Jill breaks down each recipe with a simple step-by-step, making them more than suitable to prepare for your own teatime, wherever you may be.

Jill is very down to earth ...The recipes are written simply and with lots of tips and advice so that you can make cakes that turn out like the pictures and taste absolutely scrumptious.

Janine Marshhttps://www.thegoodlifefrance.com/win-a-copy-of-teatime-in-paris/htmlThe Good Life France

Jill’s style is light, humorous and most informative. Each recipe begins with a brief introduction, detailing its history and/or associations ... The photographs are mouthwatering, the recipes are varied and interesting; most importantly they’re actually DOABLE.

Teatime in Paris is chock full of tips, advice, references guides, clear step-by-step (recipe) instructions, and on-line stockists. For anyone who loves Paris, loves French, loves pastries, this pretty pink book is just the treat!

The book also includes a helpful chapter on baking equipment (the essential and the “little luxuries”) along with a list of stockists for ingredients and equipment in various countries. There’s also a useful “quick reference guide for egg whites”.

Jill’s pâte sucrée (sweet pastry or sweet tart dough) recipe yields the best pastry cases I’ve ever made. They’re sturdy enough for any filling, but just the right balance of crispy and tender when you bite into them. They also don’t get soggy over time.

I would love to make almost every single recipe in Teatime in Paris. This is really a feat in a cookbook as many times, I end up putting them back on the shelf when I am considering buying one, as there just aren’t enough recipes that appeal to me. Well, Teatime in Paris is a book I would buy; and many of my friends have perused the book and loved it, too.

Programmes like the Great British Bake Off have brought pastries like Paris Brest, macarons and all manner of fancy tartlets into the British consciousness as something that can be made at home. "Teatime in Paris!" gives you the tools to create these yourself and, if my experience is anything to go by, Jill's recipes make them much easier than you would think.

This pretty cookbook is as tempting as the recipes it describes, and suspect am going to earmark it as Gift of the Year for everyone I know who loves baking, eating and Paris (so that’s everyone). Rating 10/10

From cover-to-cover Jill Colonna introduces you to teatime in Paris, both as a dining experience to partake in, and as the maker of the fine delectable pastry recipes she shares. You’ll develop a base knowledge of French pastry concepts, learn how less sugar plays a supporting role, and gain confidence as a beginning baker or strengthen skills you already have.

Teatime in Paris brings the Pâtisserie to your kitchen, and no, you don't need to be a master chef to taste these treats in your own home. Thanks to Jill and her easy to follow directions - and with ingredients you probably already have in your own pantry.

It's nice to be able to impress your friends and family with a dessert that looks like it was made by a pastry chef, but I often feel those fancy French pastries are beyond my ability or available time. I had heard that chocolate pastry was really difficult to work with and ganache seems like a tricky thing to make, however nothing could be further from the truth as you can see from these Double Chocolate Tartlets from "Teatime in Paris!"